The present invention relates to a merchandise display unit, and more particularly to a such a unit having vertical parallel panels in facing relation along a lateral display area and extending crosswise to the area, with their facing sides forming display spaces, each facing side having a lattice of joint formations for coaction with those of the other facing side lattice, and crossbars with joint formations on their ends mating with those on the panels to mount the crossbars between and interlock adjacent panels for maximized display space use.
The usual merchandise display unit has a back wall with a grid of equally spaced holes in vertical rows of horizontal tiers forming a pegboard for attaching cantilever peghooks or like elements carrying merchandise items for display and access by consumers in retail stores. It is important in such stores, e.g. drug stores, supermarkets, etc., that the unit use efficiently the lateral display area, i.e. the lateral or horizontal width along the store aisle, to hold as many items as possible.
The display area typically has a lateral or horizontal width along the aisle of 36 to 72 inches, a depth crosswise of the lateral aisle of 12 to 18 inches, and a height of 48 to 72 inches. The pegboard unit is often provided with long, e.g. 12 inch, cantilever peghooks to store more items along the depth of the area, but this subjects the pegboard to structural failure under the weight of items carried on the peghooks.
The unilateral cantilever support of the peghooks on the pegboard and use of equally spaced holes preclude positioning of the peghooks in the display area so as to arrange the items thereon at any and all locations relative to both the lateral direction and crosswise or depth direction of the area.
A pegboard unit drawback is that the holes must be spaced to leave enough material therebetween for structural integrity, or else the pegboard will collapse and/or tear at the holes under the weight of peghook carried items. Thus, besides precluding infinite lateral adjustment of the items, the adjustment is limited by the required minimum hole interval.
Although maximum use in a retail store of the lateral or horizontal width of the display area, and thus of the pegboard unit, is generally of primary concern, its vertical height is usually less important because this is limited by the range of reach of the consumer, which is normally less than the usable store height, and because the vertical density of use of the unit is subject to wide variation in the size of items on the peghooks, some vertically spanning several horizontal tiers.
While a maximum number of side by side peghooks might fit on a horizontal tier of holes, maximum lateral or horizontal density usage is usually not possible, as the merchandise item width is normally greater than the peghook width. Thus, extra lateral spacing is needed to avoid interfering overlap of items on adjacent peghooks, but this can only be provided within the pegboard hole interval adjustment range.
Space for a merchandise display unit in a retail store is calculated primarily on the basis of width along the aisle, and secondarily height, but not on the basis of depth as this dimension is generally common to all space along the aisle. Thus, given the lateral adjustment interval limitations of the pegboard unit, the more usage that can be made of the 12 to 18 inch display area depth, the more economical the unit will be.
To enhance use of the display area depth, the pegboard unit may have a cantilever auxiliary mounting member, e.g. a horizontal wire or round rod, hooked to the pegboard and extending forwardly, e.g. 6 inches, to carry, e.g. 12 inch, peghooks extending forwardly to fill the full 18 inch display area depth. By using an auxiliary member with 6 and/or 12 inch peghooks in other horizontal tiers, the items can be arrayed in a wider variety of arrangements, e.g. in alternate horizontal tiers in "waterfall" display.
However, using such an auxiliary member does not avoid the basic pegboard unit limitations as to incremental adjustment and ability to withstand the weight of items carried on the cantilever peghooks and auxiliary members without structural failure, and thus they cannot be positioned in the display area so as to permit versatile arrangement of the items thereon at any and all locations relative to both the lateral direction and crosswise or depth direction of the area.
It is clear from the above that a need exists for an improved merchandise display unit to overcome these drawbacks.